Hands-on with the Huawei MediaPad X2

[custom:mwc15]Huawei has today announced the MediaPad X2 as part of its MWC release, and it's either a giant phone or a small tablet, depending on your outlook. The successor to the MediaPad X1 has seen a bump in the internal hardware, with the big story being the Ultra-octa Kirin CPU. It's got full cellular capabilities, and if you look at it from the perspective of a tablet, it's impressive.

Using the same design philosophy as last years Ascend Mate 7 smartphone, the MediaPad X2 boasts an 80 percent screen-to-body ratio. That means tiny bezels at the sides and not a whole lot top and bottom. As such, you can actually one-hand this thing. OK, you need the other hand to actually do anything on it, but it's comfortable enough to hold without needing giant hands.

There are two versions, one with 16GB of storage and 2GB of RAM, and the "premium" version with 32GB of storage and 3GB of RAM. Cameras are 13MP round back and 5MP up front, it supports Cat 6 LTE, has a pretty large 5000mAh battery which promises excellent battery life paired with "only" a 1920x1200, 7-inch display.

Software has been bumped to Android 5.0 Lollipop, but it still sits far beneath Huawei's EMUI. Compared to the Ascend Mate 7, Lollipop is the only visible difference, with the UI, apps, even notification tray remaining exactly the same. Any software redesigns will probably be reserved for future releases in the Ascend series.

All told it's not a bad device. If you're looking for a one device fits all situations kind of thing, the MediaPad X2 could be a decent option. It's enormous as far as phones go, but it's one of the smallest 7-inch tablets we've seen to date. You'll need big pockets or a bag to carry it around, though.